Aram AyalonDepartment of

Teacher Restructuring Plan –

A response

Department Strengths

Good reputation in the State of Connecticut

Extensive field experience in diverse settings

Interdisciplinary focus supporting social justice, Eco-justice, and compassionate communities

Highly productive scholarship

NCATE accredited

Graduates are highly sought of by the CT schools

Department Strengths (cont.)

One of the longest existing Professional Development Schools (1996) – Naylor-CCSU Leadership Academy

Largest and most active Education Club among CSU campuses

Extensive partnerships with K-12 schools

Strong sense of faculty shared governance

Leader and activist regarding current education issues and reform

Concerns Over Restructuring Plan

Process

1.Left out of developing the plan

2.Little interdepartmental discussion

3.Suggestions not included in plan

4.Questions not answered in writing

5.Rationale and plan only unveiled last week

Concerns (cont.)

Substance

Understaffing elementary education

Creating a non-viable Secondary Education department

Reducing undergraduate graduate programs coherency and integrity

Plan is still vague

New Elementary/Early Childhood & Reading -

analysis

Interdepartmental discussions are yet to take place regarding the Dean’s restructuring plan.

Elementary program already works with reading (SAP)

Number of Elementary Ed faculty is reduced by half while enrollment is increasing

New Department of Secondary Education -

analysis

Proposed department will have no majors and no programs

Majority of faculty load will be outside of the department

Master’s program is embedded within a master’s in Foundations

Masters in (secondary) Teaching (MAT) will not be part of the department

Moving Foundations to Education Leadership -

analysis

Integral part of undergraduate preparation

Shares a graduate program with the secondary division

Foundation courses are an integral part of all graduate teacher education programs

Moving Masters of Teaching to Special Education - analysis

MAT is a secondary/K-12 program

MAT is not a special education program

Deprives secondary education faculty from utilizing their expertise

Two faculty members to be moved belong to the elementary division

Conclusions

In line with the Senate’s tradition we ask for:

(1)a dialog among all stakeholders in the spirit of shared governance

(2)A joint plan all departments involved would agree and sign on to